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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25229881">These are the girls (I love the most)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Florchis/pseuds/Florchis'>Florchis</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Discord: Kakashi Lounge, Long Live Feedback Comment Project, Multi, Pining, love rivals</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:42:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>909</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25229881</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Florchis/pseuds/Florchis</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ino confronts Kakashi about both of them watching Sakura from afar.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Haruno Sakura/Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>87</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>These are the girls (I love the most)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/kanames_harisen/gifts">kanames_harisen</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For kanames_harisen for the Kakashi Lounge 30 Minutes to Dog Days of Summer gift exchange. Hope you like it! This complete story was done in 30 minutes, so excuse any mistakes!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ino pushes him apart with her hip and Kakashi has to take a deep breath to not react like the old Kakashi of the past and swiftly respond with a kunai to her throat. Having both your parents and closest friends die young has many consequences, and a big one among them is the way he has grown unaccustomed to casual physical intimacy. Gai and his own genin team have been eroding at that for years now, but old habits die hard, especially when it’s with people that make him intrinsically nervous. Like Ino.</p><p>She leans against the side of the stand by his side and offers him a sip of her tall glass of iced tea. Kakashi is not thirsty, but takes it nonetheless, the liquid refreshing and sweet when it goes down his throat. Trust is built, they say.</p><p>“You are not as subtle as you think you are,” she says while he is still holding the glass, and honestly, if she is trying to unsettle him, she is doing one hell of a job. “For a shinobi of your caliber, it’s a bit sad, actually.”</p><p>Kakashi gives her a side-glance, pondering his options; he knows from years of shinobi training that you never underestimate an enemy but that sometimes underestimating an ally can be even more harmful. He is not sure where he stands with Ino yet, and he’d rather thread very carefully than not and that’s why he decided to drop his usual dumb facade.</p><p>“I see the Intelligence Division has sharpened your skills, Ino.”</p><p>She doesn’t even turn around to look at him: much like Sakura, praise is not enough anymore to keep her wheels turning. She knows how good she is and having someone else tell her doesn’t make much of a difference anymore.</p><p>“Flattery will take you everywhere, Kakashi-sensei.” She uses the honorific in a way that is both an afterthought and a mockery. The side of his mouth lifts under the mask; she is feisty and he won’t even pretend that he doesn’t like that. “Won’t change the fact that I know what makes you work.” </p><p>She makes a toast with her half-empty glass to their side and for the first time since the conversation started, Kakashi allows his eyes to slip back to Sakura,  who is seated in the middle of a circle of her peers, laughing openly and talking with her hands in a way he hadn’t seen her do very frequently. The flower that blooms in adversity and all that crap.</p><p>“Is that so.” There is no inflection in his voice; it’s neither a question nor a warning, and Ino looks at him from the corner of her eyes, measuring his reaction. She is good, but it would do her good to remember that she also shouldn’t underestimate her rivals. “I imagine you’ll notice, considering you spend most of your time looking at her yourself.”</p><p>Her lips form a smirk, her eyes steel cold; for each feature in her face that makes her beautiful, they also make her dangerous, and somehow being face to face with a worthy opponent makes the earthly enjoyment of watching his crush even more thrilling.</p><p>He is expecting a comeback, a threat, any form of drawing a clear line in the sand that separates where he stands from where she stands. Instead, her eyes also sought after Sakura and they immediately soften. If their age difference and their former relationship as student and sensei present a lot of challenges to his relationship with Sakura, he can only imagine that her long past of rivalry with Ino is no less of an obstacle course for them.</p><p>“She is something, isn’t she?” It’s not much of an enlightening statement; in fact, it’s pretty much tautologic, but somehow Kakashi can only agree. It might be part of Sakura’s own enticing aura: to not allow you to put the allure into words, to keep the enchantment unspeakable while the woman herself is very much worldly and real.</p><p>“Yeah, she is.”</p><p>He keeps expecting her to say something else, how can one be civil with someone who wants exactly what you want? In the shinobi world, you learn to fight to the death for what you love, for what belongs to you, for what you want to protect, and this should be no exception. Kakashi does not think he would necessarily win this particular battle, but who would he be as a shinobi, as a man, as a lover, if he didn’t fight for the only thing he has wanted that is not dying ever since he lost everything? Fighting for Sakura would even be a welcome change: fighting is something he knows how to do, while he clearly sucks at yearning and watching her from a distance.  </p><p>But Ino doesn’t offer him aggression; instead, with what looks like a lot of effort, she pulls her eyes apart from Sakura and looks him in the eyes. There is no hostility in her face, but protectiveness and longing, and oh, can Kakashi relate to that.</p><p>“I think you would be good to her,” she says in a soft but sure voice, and Kakashi feels shivers running all down his body. “That doesn’t mean I will let her go without a fight.”</p><p>Kakashi nods and accepts the last sip of the tea she is offering that feels like an oath. “I know. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.” </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This story is part of <a>LLF Comment Project</a>, whose goal is to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites:</p><ul>

<li>Short comments</li>

<li>Long comments</li>

<li>Questions</li>

<li>“&lt;3” as extra kudos</li>

<li>Prompts</li>

<li>Image reactions</li>

<li>Reader-reader interaction</li>

This author replies to comments (but it might take a while). If you'd rather not get a reply, please add *whispers* to your comment.</ul></blockquote></div></div>
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